Why does the goal always have to be skinny?

So what the fuss? – Stevie Wonder

In this appearance driven society, it is hard to maintain the perfect image. It is particularly hard for women and their figures. To be a certain size, shape, height, weight, have the right hair color, skin type, be in the right age range, etc. When is it ever enough? And who’s judging this contest anyway?

What about being healthy on the inside?

Do we have to judge and not love each time we look in the mirror?

Have you ever looked at a photograph from a year, 2, 5 or 10 years ago and thought, “Wow, I looked amazing!” Yet at the time, you remember thinking, “I need to be skinnier.” Or perhaps thought your shoulders were too broad or narrow. Or you needed to be more toned. To be taller. Shorter. Have longer hair. Shorter hair. Any hair at all. To be tanner or fairer. So on and so forth.

Why can’t we be content in the now? Better yet, how do we be content in the now? How do we accept and love ourselves in the moment?

This is something I work on with clients in my program. This is also something I work on with myself. Because I too am human and by no means perfect. I make mistakes, eat fried food, think I should look like the models on the fashion magazines and believe it when they tell me I should look a certain way in order to be… To be what? Accepted? Attractive? Successful? Happy? Confident? Healthy? I think NOT.

What about being healthy on the inside? I can’t tell you how many women I hear about dealing with these same or similar struggles on a daily basis. “How come that girl at the bar can come in every night and eat all the pasta in the world and never gain a pound?” “How do I become like that girl?” I’ve thought that same thing before. But what about being healthy on the inside? What about nourishing our bodies instead of judging them? Loving them instead of hating them.

Who is anyone to judge me? Including myself? Who is anyone to judge you? So what the fuss? Why should I feel that my confidence is compromised because I don’t fit the model dress sizing?

I make a choice each day, each meal, with each breath. Sometimes it is a choice that serves me and sometimes it is not. But I know I always feel better when I make the choice to be healthy. Not necessarily the choice that has fewer calories. But the choice that is going to be best serve me. Nourish me.

Listen to your body. It has all the answers. Not the voice in your head but trust that feeling in your body. Believe in yourself. That you are amazing, beautiful, balanced and talented. Because you are! That is the only way you are going to lower down the volume of those negative thoughts that do nothing for you but hold you back from what you want to be. Be healthy on the inside and let it flourish on the outside. By believing and practicing that each day, you’ll flood the white noise away.

Your feedback is so appreciated. Thanks to everyone who responds to my emails. It is so inspiring to me to “hear” your voice and kind words.

If you feel you’d like some support this spring in getting your mind and body to a better place of balance, health, and ease, please hit me up. I’m here to support, help and inspire you to make the best choices for your body.

In GREAT health,

Rebekah

Health Counselor in Nutrition

Fuller Health